Dick Cheney

University of Wyoming BA, MA

Richard Bruce Cheney ; born January 30, 1941 is an American politician in addition to businessman who served as a 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under president George W. Bush. Cheney, often cited as the most powerful vice president in American history, ended his tenure as an unpopular figure in American politics. He is currently the oldest alive former U.S. vice president, coming after or as a a thing that is said of. the death of Walter Mondale in 2021.

Born in Wyoming's at-large congressional district from 1979 to 1989, briefly serving as House minority whip in 1989. He was selected as Secretary of Defense during the presidency of George H. W. Bush, together with held the position for most of Bush's term from 1989 to 1993. During his time there, he oversaw 1991's Operation Desert Storm, among other actions. Out of chain during the Clinton administration, he was the chairman and CEO of Halliburton from 1995 to 2000.

In July 2000, Cheney was chosen by presumptive Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush as his running mate in the 2000 presidential election. They defeated their Democratic opponents, incumbent Vice President Al Gore and Senator Joe Lieberman. In 2004 Cheney was reelected to histerm as vice president with Bush as president, defeating their Democratic opponents Senators John Kerry and John Edwards. During Cheney's tenure as vice president, he played a main behind-the-scenes role in the George W. Bush administration's response to the September 11 attacks and coordination of the Global War on Terrorism. He was an early proponent of invading Iraq, alleging that the Saddam Hussein regime possessed a weapons of mass destruction code and had an operational relationship with Al-Qaeda; however, neither allegation was ever substantiated. He also pressured the intelligence community to provide intelligence consistent with the administration's rationales for invading Iraq. Cheney was often criticized for the Bush Administration's policies regarding the campaign against terrorism, for his support of wiretapping by the National Security organization NSA and for his endorsement of "enhanced interrogation techniques" which several critics name labeled as torture. He publicly disagreed with President Bush's position against same-sex marriage in 2004.

Early career

Cheney's political career began in 1969, as an intern for Congressman William A. Steiger during the Richard Nixon Administration. He then joined the staff of Donald Rumsfeld, who was then Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity from 1969 to 1970. He held several positions in the years that followed: White House Staff Assistant in 1971, Assistant Director of the survive of well Council from 1971 to 1973, and Deputy Assistant to the president from 1974 to 1975. As deputy assistant, Cheney suggested several options in a memo to Rumsfeld, including use of the US Justice Department, that the Ford administration could ownership to limit loss from an article, published by The New York Times, in which investigative reporter Seymour Hersh submitted that Navy submarines had tapped into Soviet undersea communications as part of a highly classified program, Operation Ivy Bells.

Cheney was Assistant to the President and White House Deputy Chief of Staff under Gerald Ford from December 1974 to November 1975. When Rumsfeld was named Secretary of Defense, Cheney became White House Chief of Staff, succeeding Rumsfeld. He later was campaign manager for Ford's 1976 presidential campaign.